Vlissingen
The State of Vlissingen is one of the twelve states that make up the The Republic of Amasenen, more info is still being collected about this region. It is the least populated and one of the smallest in terms of land area as it is an archipelago. Etymology "Vlissingen" is named after the Dutch West Indian Company's (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) important commercial hub during the 1600's, namely Vlissingen, Zeeland in the southern United Provinces (Republiek der Zeven Vereenigde Nederlanden)'' Vlissingen, Zeeland is a historically important coastal city and it was the Dutch West India Company that first established a tradepost-foothold on Vlissingen, which would become the capital of the short-lived but the then-quickly developing Dutch colonial possession. The earlier derivation of the name "Vlissingen" is unclear, though most scholars relate the name to the word ''fles (bottle) in one way or another. Geology Archeologists are still trying to figure this one out. History Pre-History The earliest known inhabitants of the island were the Tlaa. Little of their remains have stood against the test of time. Children learn very briefly about the Tlaa in elementary school and there is a small Tlaa Museum in Sluus in Moerasmeer. Tlaa cave and rock art lingers on in the Zwartkust. The imagery suggest that the island had more vegetation in the area at one point in time. Arrival of the Hapa Austronesian seafarers from Southern Borneo began to arrive in waves on their outrigger canoes and arrived onto Vlissingen prior to expanding to and settling the rest of Amasenen. This Hapese tribe that stayed on Vlissingen is known today as the Hi Bohini Ho Ta’ihuwana Furowa’ana (People of the First Settlement), commonly referred to as the "Furowa'anan" (literally meaning First). It is unsure when the Hapese first set foot on Amasenen, however archeological evidence on the main island of Vlissingen indicate an arrival date of at least about 500 BCE. The Hap(a) would settle along the coasts and primarily consume shoreline dwelling crustaceans, fish, marine algae, sea cucumbers (locally called Gama) and bivalves. A bartering economy was established between the Tlaa of the interior and the coastal Hap. Arrival of the Bungcaeans (vaBañi) During the early 500’s CE in Persia, the Sasanian Shahanshah, Kavadh I converted from his Orthodox Zoroastrianism to the teachings of the mobad Mazdak. Slavery, consumption of animals, embellishment of temples, worship of deities, private ownership and even the institution of marriage were all abolished practically overnight in the empire. Part of the restitution doctrine for all of the enslaved in the empire, a policy of repatriation of the Zanj coast slaves back to Africa were commissioned. Civil war was about to break out in the empire due to Kavadh I and Mazdak being confronted by the powerful minor nobles and the Zoroastrian clergy(Magi). Once back in their ancestral homeland, religious tension began to arise between the locals and the estranged newcomers, until an ardent and visionary Mazdakite supporter, the mystical female mobad, only known as the''' "'''Ĉašamata" (roughly transliterated to as The Eye-Mother) envisioned a strict Mazdakite-following colony on Amasenen. It is currently unknown how these Persianized Africans would have heard about Amasenen. Some say it had occurred to the "Ĉašamata" in a dream. After a few tries at creating a settlement in the North and West, they were finally welcomed by the Hi Bohini Ho Ta’ihuwana Furowa'ana chieftain to settle on Vlissingen. It is understood from oral folklore that the native Tlaa, the Hap and the then-recently arrived Bungcaeans lived in relative harmony and even religiously influenced each other. The Bungcaeans brought with them a form of writing and began to write about their policies and folkloric stories, thereby ending the Pre-Historic Period on Vlissingen. Shahanshah Kavadh I would eventually reconsider his allegiance to Mazdak and would go on and slaughter Mazdak and 3000 of his closest followers, thereby leaving the Bungcaeans as one of the only significant Mazdakite groups in the world. Later Qarmatians and Khurramites however would indicate a prolonged death of Mazdakite beliefs before fading into obscurity on the mainland. The last mention of the mainland form of Mazdakism would be in the 17th Century Dabestan-e Mazaheb, however by then the Mazdakite-Bungcaean faith on Vlissingen had diverged considerably. The faith would eventually be called the Žaruvana-jena '''or '''Dorusti-jena; Faith of Time or Faith of Pleasure respectfully. Slave Raider Period and the Demise of the Tlaa During the height of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade/Arab Slave Trade, between 500 and 1500, the purported paradise island of the Bungcaeans became a sort of hopeful landing spot for successful slave ship rebellions and brave escapees from Yemen, Zanzibar, Oman, Mesopotamia, Persia, the Deccan and South East Asia. Most of the ex-slaves came from the Zanj region on the Swahili coast and eventually introduced the Arabic-Bantu creole language of kiSwahili to the Bungcaeans, however Malagasy, Nubian and Ethiopian slaves were also reportedly introduced into the island's ethno-cultural make-up. The medieval state of Bungcaea survives seems to have prospered in relative isolation, and some say that they are still very isolated today in their Bungcaean province. Either due to the growth of the Bungcaean population or due to being victims of the slave raids introduced by the neighbouring seafaring states, between the 1100's and 1500's, the Vlissingener Tlaa would die out as a separate identity and culture. The Bungcaeans and Furowa'ana has since developed a tradition of mourning the loss of their once-Tlaa island-based partners on a yearly basis ever since on the 4th of March (Gregorian Calendar). The date purportedly commemorates the death of the last Tlaa chieftain sometime before the 1550's. Portuguese discovery by Captain Henrique Mendes Do Faro On the 9th of September 1502, Portuguese explorer Henrique Mendes Do Faro discovered the island of Vlissingen (along with the rest of Amasenen) after a tip off during a stopover in a Gujarati port town. The islands are henceforth discovered, mapped and claimed by the Portuguese Crown. The island of Vlissingen is called “'Ihla Mariana'” after the recently betrothed Portuguese Queen, Maria de Trastámara of Aragon. In particular, the Furowa'ana stilted and floating city of Suba in Soravoay is written in great detail and even described as the "Venice of the Guineas". The city is currently a major tourist attraction and still holds true to its ancient sea-loving tradition on the islands of Doyanen. After three separate attempts at colonization fail (1523, 1527, 1543), due to native hostility, the Portuguese lose interest in establishing a foothold on the island. A small four manned Jesuit mission camp is established in 1562, at the mouth of the Oesterskanaal, on the eastern banks, modern-day Simonshaven. Three of the four Jesuit priests however quickly upon arrival "unravel" and "went native"and began to live alongside the Bungcaean and Furowa'ana "like common savages in the nude". The fourth Jesuit priest would leave and campaigned for a few years among the Catholic Church by recommending to his Jesuit brethren to forego and ignore the accursed Bungcaean island. The Catholic Church thereby coined the island as "(Ilha da) Tentação", Portuguese for Temptation Island. The fourth Jesuit priest however mysteriously disappeared after a mission trip to the Far East in 1579 and was never seen again. Some believe that the Bungcaean temptation was so great, that it finally won him over as well and he fled there to live his out his remaining years. Bungcaea is basically left to its own devices after that until the Spanish came. The Ibero-Bankani War (1587-1589) The Iberian Union under the Spanish Crown de facto inherits the Portuguese colonial possessions in the 1580's. A Spanish expedition is sent to Tentação and invades and slaughters many islanders. A military and trade outpost, Portolentia, is held at the mouth of the Oesterskanaal, nearby the failed Jesuit mission camp. The vaBankani and Furowa’ana militarily united and retaliated against the would-be conquistadors. This is the first and only recorded incidence of the Bungcaea and Furowa'ana joining forces against a European invasion. The Spanish commander José Marín was brutally killed and possibly even eaten by the Furowa'ana. The VOC period (1630 - 1678) The Dutch West Indian Company expelled the Spanish from Amasenen during the Thirty Years’ War and quickly laid claim to most of the islands and peninsulas, including Vlissingen under the Dutch Crown. The Cities of Vlissingen and Sluus are established by the VOC on the 14th of April 1632 and the 5th of June 1656, respectfully. Vlissingen’s relatively safe naval access, welcoming natives (possibly owing to the Dutch laissez fair religious policy) and natural rich sources of dyes, fragrances and salts saw the initial development from colony to the Stad van Vlissingen. Moerasmeer’s rich lakeshore saltpans and oyster and pearl-rich lagoon and canal also saw rapid growth and would be the colony’s second largest city; Stad van Sluus. Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen and Swedish Rule Following the Dutch defeat in the Franco-Dutch War of 1672-1678 and the French successful conquest of Vlissingen, the Dutch Republic lose all of Amasenen. Vlissingen itself is given as a gift by the French to the Swedish the following year as a sign of friendship. Swedish rule was very lax. The development of the unique Sueco-Dutch Matrozen identity, culture and Dutch dialect began to occur in Vlissingen. Sluus additionally saw some French, Flemish and Swedish immigration, especially around the saltpanning village of Saltgruvan near Sluus in Moerasmeer. Some of these are Vlissingen is initially used as the colonial headquarters for 17 years by the Swedes, prior to the establishment of the more defensible Ärfäder holding in central Amasenen. Pirate Republic of Dracomare (+/-1695) Due to the Swedes hands-offness and the numerous penal colonies being set up by the Poles, Russians and Austrians in the Northern part of main Amasenen island, the Zwartkust saw the founding of the Pirate Republic of Dracomare - a sister republic to the infamous Libertalia on Madagascar, which would become a major nuisance in the Indian Ocean for at least 80 years. There is a commonly-held belief that the Swedes partially benefitted from the Dracomare's piracy. Aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the British saw fit and executed the arrival and rapid conquest of all of Amasenen from the Swedes. Many Indians from Kerala and Gujarat began to migrate to the cities of Sluus and Vlissingen forming an influential and highly urbanized minority. The Sueco-Dutch Matrozen majority fearing their cultural identity and language being lost or forgotten due to Anglicizations and Indianizations. The Matrozen then began to institute policies to linguistically, religiously and culturally oppress the vaBanka and Furowa’ana and further Matroosicize them. This was met with little success and ethnic violence broke out several times between the four groups (incl. the Anglo-Indians). Self-Rule and Apartheit (1st of November 1948) An Apartheid-like system is instituted despite British disapproval, this was followed by anti-British policies and many British citizens began to slowly leave en masse. Afrikaner South African cultural influence began to influence the similarly Dutch-derived Matrozen culture. Establishment of the Republic of Vlissingen (21st of March 1951) On the footsteps of the disintegration of the British Empire and due to continued pressure from the British to do away with the Apartheit system, independence is declared. The British trashed any pre-existing trade agreements in retaliation and Vlissingen began to wane in economic vitality. Many Anglo-British citizen leave en masse fearing government-sponsored violence following the economic woes. Fall of the Republic of Vlissingen (Late 1990's) Vlissingen independence was bittersweet, due being internationally pressured through commercial exclusion to eliminate their Apartheit policy, Vlissingen became very poor. The Republic of Vlissingen eventually caved in and absolved the apartheit policy. However, businesses were far too cautious of investing in Vlissingen due to continued ethnic violence. Many Indians began to emigrate to India or to the main Amasenen island, leaving behind a small fraction of what was of their once highly influential but competing population. Atlaan and Svorg Invasions (Mid-2000's until the 2500's) Vlissingen were quickly conquered by the Atlaans. Despite being treated as second-class citizens, Vlissingen saw renewed economic interest and benefitted from Atlaan rule, however Vlissingen were one of the first to switch sides in favour of the Svorgs. Vlissingen henceforth continued to grow and serve the Svorg administration loyally. The following still need to be written: The states are consolidated and united (except for Kaiev) '' ''Communist revolution Foundation of government Chaoist rebellions Opening to the world Australian war Aftermath and settling foreign troops on Amasenese land. Demographics Located off the coast in the North West of main Amasenine island, with a population of 309.112 people, it is one of the least populated states of the Republic of Amasenen - as well as one of the least overall developed. Tlaa (Extinct) Though originally settled by the Tlaa, little of their heritage and culture survives to this day as they were fully absorbed by the vaBankani and the Furowa'ana or were enslaved and exported by the various slave raids that endured prior to Portuguese and Dutch colonization. Notable Minor Groups Indians, Chinese and Sephardic Jews form notable urbanized minorities in the main cities of Vlissingen Stad, Sluus, Geurighaven, Obbe and Meeuwen. Jews The Sephardic Jewish community first arrived during the Dutch colonization of the island after it had been taken from the Portuguese. the synagogue of Vlissingen Stad is one of the oldest buildings in all of Amasenen. Since then, many Jews from elsewhere have moved in, especially from Israel, the United States, Canada, Russia, Argentina, South Africa, Ethiopia and Australia. Currently their 5.193 strong community is split between the following: * 2.045 Reform or Reconstructionist Jews (mostly Ashkenazi) * 1.555 Conservative Jews (mostly Sephardic) * 982 Non-organized or irreligious Jews * 323 Humanistic Jews (mostly Ashkenazi) * 215 Ethiopian Jews * 73 Karaite Jews (mostly of Crimean or Azerbaijani descent) Indians The Indian community were first brought in to work on the fragrant and aloe vera plantations in Zuyterhoek and saltpans of Moerasmeer from Kerala and Gujarat. Eventually the Indian community urbanized and currently dominate the jewelry and textile trade on Vlissingen. Their influence is felt in local politics, sometimes acting as a counter-weight against Matroosk Protestantism. Jainism is particularly dominant in the older Indian populations, whereas the newer more recently introduced Indian community tends to follow Shaivism form of Hinduism. A notable ashram exists on the outskirts of Geurighaven. Chinese The Chinese community is of recent migration and can almost exclusively be found in the inner-cities of Sluus, Obbe, Vlissingen Stad, and Geurighaven. They tend run Chinese restaurants and/or Chinese mini-markets. Many follow Buddhism but overall they tend to be less religious than other Vlissingener ethnic communities. There are currently no Buddhist temples on Vlissingen. Main Ethnic Groups There are three main extant ethnic-cultural groups that settled the state are namely: * The Sueco-Dutch “'Matrozen'” population, who speak a Dutch dialect akin to Afrikaans. “Matroos” culture again similar to Boer culture in that they dominate the political and economic landscape on Vlissingen. They predominately follow the Lutheran-influenced “Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk”. Other notable religious minorities among the “Matrozen” include the influential but far more liberal Svenska Kyrkan (whose followers are sometimes derogatorily labeled as “Matruus” or “Matruzen” instead, due to their supposed stain of Non-Germanic (i.e. Finnish) influences), Catholicism (especially common among the Flemish and French decendants in Sluus) and Batavo-Portuguese Sephardic Judaism. The Baha’i faith, Church of Latter Day Saints, minor Evangelical churches and the Church of Scientology are also present. The harbour-city of Vlissingen is the largest city in the province and state and acts as the official capital of both. Sluus is the second largest city and also supports a strong Matrozen culture. Other notable Matroos cities include Geurighaven in Zuyterhoek, Meeuwen in Zwartkust and Obbe on the distant Southern island of De Ruyter Eylant. * The “'Hi Bohini Ho Ta’ihuwana Furowa’ana'” (a.k.a. "Furowa'ana") speak a South Bornean-derived Hapese language similar to elsewhere on Amasenen, but especially akin to the island dwelling Hi Bohini Ho Refo’o in the South and the coastal/mountain dwelling Hi Bohini Ho Apo. They integrated with the native Tlaa and quickly began to dominate the entire archipelago. After years of European colonization, oppression and economic negligence they are currently predominantly found on the mangrove island-rich Eastern “Soravoay” province of Vlissingen State. The main city of Suba is a semi-floating touristic city constructed on a collection surfaced coral islands. Many buildings (including homes) are still constructed using corals and driftwood, which gives the city its tropical yet Bohemian appeal. Many follow their traditional native religious custom (Hapese Animism), however many have converted to the originally Bankani religion of Žaruvana-jena, Baha'ï, Mormonism, Matroosk Protestantism and Christian Evangelicalism. * The vaBañkani or Bungcaean/Bankaïaanse population speak an Old Persian-influenced creole form of kiSwahili and Hapese, called Bankayic. The vaBankani washed upon the shore of Vlissingen sometime in the mid-300’s after fleeing persecution by the Sassanid Persian Zoroastrianization and later Arabian Islamification efforts. Once they arrived, they quickly and successfully intermingled with the Hi Bohini Ho Ta’ihuwana Furowa’ana and the now-extinct Tlaa for centuries. Over the years many escaped slaves fleed into the Indian ocean to the idealized safety of the Bankayan Valley. Arab, Omani, Persian, Malay and Indian slavers would frequent the island to enslave the Bankayan population and many massacres on Bankayan villages and communities occurred. The remains of many of these villages are now tourists attractions in the north-western Zwartkust province. European colonization brought a far more brutal form of slave raiding and there are some who consider certain policies reminiscent of genocide. Currently, most vaBañkani live in the Bankayaanse Vallei and is the least developed province on Vlissingen. Ownership and marriage are nonexistent in their matriarchal culture, while Veganism, red clothing and free-love (including group orgies) are hallmarks of their cultural curiosity. Provinces (including the capital) Quick Statistics Category:State __FORCETOC__